UKFPO Bulletin

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November Bulletin

The words 'Hello November' surrounded by autumn coloured leaves

Remembrance Sunday – 9 November  

Men’s Mental Health Month 

National Self Care Week 17-23 November 

Other national campaigns this month 

Action for happiness calendar – ‘New Ways November’ 

Introduction

Welcome to this month’s blog about the Foundation Programme. 

I hope that all is going well with your training – a reminder that the vast majority of Foundation doctors will need to get their end of placement named clinical supervisor report completed towards the end of this month. If you are having any issues with this, speak to your educational supervisor and/or Foundation training programme director. 

Opportunity knocks…. 

For people of my age, this saying brings to a mind a 1970s TV show – think ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ but worse…. I’d like to reflect this month on how opportunity knocks for Foundation doctors: 

Research: 

  • many will think that this is just for those in the Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) 
  • however, understanding how research is carried out in a robust way and being able to critically appraise data is important for all doctors so that good clinical decisions can be made 
  • many departments will have research activity and trials going on, ask around to see if they need any help 

Education/teaching: 

  • again, getting involved with teaching and education programmes is not solely the preserve of SFPs 
  • get involved with teaching medical students, other healthcare professionals and other doctors 
  • try to teach about something you’re enthusiastic about – it’s usually very obvious to an audience when a teacher or presenter is not interested in the topic! 
  • ask for feedback on how you’ve done; use this to reflect how you might be better next time, but also as evidence of what you’ve done 

Leadership/management: 

  • there are lots of opportunities to represent your colleagues at local, regional and national meetings 
  • ask your supervisors if you can attend team meetings or management meetings as an observer; write a reflective piece on what you saw 

Quality Improvement projects: 

  • on one hand, you can look at this as a tick-box curricular outcome; on the other hand, you can look at it as an opportunity to improve patient care, health outcomes and do some learning all at the same time! 
  • try to measure the effects of any change that you implement 
  • ask your supervisors about any projects that you can get involved with, and the possibility of presenting findings at a local or regional meeting 
  • think about submitting abstracts about your projects for presentation 

You will have to ask to get involved in some of these opportunities, which will be available across the country in all sorts of different settings. Don’t get downhearted if at first the answer is ‘no’, keep looking and keep asking and eventually someone will say ‘yes’!  

As ever, look after yourselves and each other. 

Best wishes 

Dr Mike Masding, UKFPO National Clinical Director

Notices and announcements

Humans of the Foundation Programme E-book 

Last month we announced the launch of the UKFP 2024-25 Humans of the Foundation Programme e-book. If you haven’t already, we really encourage you to have a look at this great publication. It details the launch of Humans of the Foundation Programme, described by its creator Dr Jie Fei Lau, UKFPO Fellow for the 2024-25 foundation training year, the process of how these amazing articles are collected and contains all articles that were published on the UKFPO website during the 2024-25 training year!  

For your chance to be included in next year’s e-book celebration of the diversity of experiences within the Foundation Programme, visit the Humans of the Foundation Programme webpage for more information on how to submit an article. 

Spotlight on educational resources

SLE guidance updated 

Have a look at the updated LEARN form guidance on our SLE types webpage (scroll to the last section on the page). 

Foundation doctors may also find it helpful to review the example on how to plan and undertake an SLE. This is just one approach, and others are welcome and encouraged. 

Assessments 

Your local postgraduate centre team will have shared information with you about the assessments you need to undertake during your foundation training. A high-level summary, and blank e-portfolio assessment forms, are available on our Assessments webpage. 

UKFPO 2024-25 Fellow Project Webpage 

We have just published a project by Dr Dasha Ibrahim, one of our 2024-25 UKFPO Fellows: EDI Teaching project page. Dasha’s project explores equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) teaching for UK foundation doctors and shares great practise from across the UK. Have a look and contact Dasha (contact details on the above page) if you’d like more information or want to get involved! 

Webinars

Coming up 

The MDRS held a Specialty recruitment webinar on 22 October 2025, offering key information on how to apply, timelines to note and changes coming into force. Watch the recording for further details. 

If there are any specific topics you think we have missed or you wish for us to cover in our educational webinar series, please send your suggestions to foundation.educationandsupport@nhs.net 

Opportunities and events

Humans of the Foundation Programme 

Are you interested in creative writing and would like your article published on the UKFPO website, social media platforms and in this monthly bulletin (which is shared with the whole UK Foundation Programme community)? See our ‘Humans of the Foundation Programme’ webpage, created by Dr Jie Fei Lau, 2024-25 UKFPO Fellow, for further details, published articles and the submission form to submit articles of your own.   

New articles published this month: 

Elearning for healthcare update

Review the October 2025 elfh update